Florida: St. Lucie County Commissioner Mowery Considering Bid Against Murphy

St. Lucie County Commissioner Tod Mowery, a Republican, is considering a run against freshman Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla.

“I have been aggressively working through an evaluation of the district 18 race and I have a growing interest in that position,” Mowery told CQ Roll Call in a Monday evening telephone interview. “I think that it is something I definitely have on my radar at this point — evaluating.”

After one of the most brutal, personal and vituperative House races in 2012, Murphy, 29, unseated then-Rep. Allen B. West, a Republican, by a tiny margin. Murphy took 50.3 percent to West’s 49.7 percent.

First elected to the commission in 2010, Mowery now serves as its chairman. He described himself as a “conservative Republican” and “a consensus builder.” Along with his responsibilities on the commission, Mowry manages a landscape, architecture and land-planning firm.

Mowery said he had no time frame for making a final decision about Florida’s 18th District, but he added “the sooner the better” for fundraising.